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Scientists say Earth is likely to reach more dangerous levels of warming sooner as a result of the president’s decision.

Many allies are expressing alarm over the U.S. abandoning the chief effort to slow the planet's warming. The leaders of France, Germany and Italy joined to "note with regret" the Trump decision and express doubts about any change in the accord.

By Jill ColvinThe Associated Press

Fri., June 2, 2017

BRUSSELS—Environmental campaigners protested Friday against U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to pull the United States out of the Paris climate accord, while nations around the world pledged to double down on their efforts to curb global warming in response to the U.S. move.

In Berlin, Greenpeace activists projected Trump’s silhouette onto the side of the U.S. embassy along with the words “#TotalLoser, so sad!”

Hours later German Chancellor Angela Merkel summoned reporters for an impromptu statement in which she called Trump’s decision “extremely regrettable, and that’s putting it very mildly.”

But Merkel, whose country hosts this year’s international climate summit, said it was now time to look ahead.

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“This decision can’t and won’t stop all those of us who feel obliged to protect the planet,” she said. “On the contrary. We in Germany, Europe and the world will combine our forces more resolutely than ever to address and successfully tackle challenges for humanity such as climate change.”

A protester holds a sign in New York City after Trump's decision to pull out of the 195-nation Paris climate accord deal. (JEWEL SAMAD / AFP/Getty Images)

U.S. President Donald Trump announces his decision for the United States to pull out of the Paris climate agreement at the White House on June 1, 2017. (Win McNamee / Getty Images)

In Brussels, European Council President Donald Tusk, standing alongside Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, said that the EU and China “are convinced that yesterday’s decision by the United States to leave the Paris agreement is a big mistake.”

Referring to “the latest unfortunate decisions of the new administration,” Tusk said that the EU and China had “demonstrated solidarity with future generations and responsibility for the whole planet” by reaffirming their climate change commitment.

A Greenpeace banner showing U.S. President Donald Trump is projected onto the facade of the U.S. Embassy in Berlin, Germany on June 2. (Michael Sohn)

Anticipating a possible U.S. pullout, officials from China and the European Union — two of the world’s major polluters — have prepared a declaration reaffirming their commitment to the 2015 Paris Agreement, which is widely considered a landmark deal for bringing together almost all countries under a common goal.

Trump said the United States would be willing to rejoin the accord if it could obtain more favourable terms, but the leaders of France, Germany and Italy said in a joint statement Thursday that the agreement cannot be renegotiated, “since it is a vital instrument for our planet, societies and economics.”

Germany’s environment minister, Barbara Hendricks, told reporters in Berlin that other countries will fill the leadership vacuum but none will be expected to make up the shortfall in emissions reductions caused by Washington’s exit.

Hendricks said the absence of $500 million contributions from the United States to the Green Climate Fund will be felt from 2018, but suggested the gap could be filled with “other financing mechanisms, for example through the World Bank.”

The Green Fund is designed to help poor countries adapt to climate change and bypass some of the heavily polluting technologies formerly used by rich countries.

Poor countries are predicted to be among the hardest hit by global warming, with some foreseeing tens of millions of “climate refugees” in coming decades.

South Africa called the U.S. pullout “an abdication of global responsibility. “It said the U.S. has a “moral obligation” to support poorer countries in the global effort against climate change.

In Tokyo, Japan’s environment minister, Koichi Yamamoto, said: “I’m not just disappointed, but also feel anger.”

Former Mexican President Vicente Fox also criticized Trump’s move, saying on Twitter: “He’s declaring war on the planet itself.”

Mexico City's Mayor Miguel Angel Mancera announced on his Twitter account that the city would light up in green to reaffirm Mexico's support for the Paris climate agreement after Trump withdrew the U.S. from the accord. (Marco Ugarte)

A top atmospheric scientist at the UN’s weather agency said Friday that the “worst-case scenario” caused by the planned U.S. pullout from the Paris climate deal would be a further 0.3-degree Celsius (0.5 Fahrenheit) rise in global temperatures by 2100.

Deon Terblanche of the World Meteorological Organization said the organization hasn’t run any new scientific models following Trump’s announcement.

The Paris accord aims to prevent average temperature around the world from heating up by more than 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) before the end of the century, compared to before the start of the industrial age.

Scientists say every fraction of a degree change in average temperatures can lead to noticeable swings in local weather patterns, though consequences are difficult to predict.

At home, the U.S. Conference of Mayors strongly opposed the decision and said the nation’s mayors will continue efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions blamed for global warming.

Responding to Trump’s pointing to his city, Pittsburgh, Mayor Bill Peduto called the decision “disastrous for our planet, for cities such as Pittsburgh,” and a step that “has made America weaker and the world less safe.”

In a rare statement on his successor’s policies, Obama said: “Even in the absence of American leadership; even as this administration joins a small handful of nations that reject the future, I’m confident that our states, cities, and businesses will step up and do even more to lead the way, and help protect for future generations the one planet we’ve got.”

As directed by New York Governor Andrew Cuomo in response to Trump's decision to pull the United States out of the Paris Climate Accord, One World Trade Center is illuminated with green light in New York City. (Drew Angerer)

The immediate impact of Trump’s move could be largely symbolic. The White House said the U.S. will stop contributing to the United Nations Green Climate Fund and will stop reporting carbon data as required by the Paris accord, although domestic regulations require that reporting anyway. The decision has no direct impact on major U.S. regulations on power plants and car rules currently aimed at reducing carbon emissions, although those are currently under review by Trump as well.

“This agreement is less about the climate and more about other countries gaining a financial advantage over the United States,” Trump said.

Congressional Republicans applauded the decision, with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky saying Trump had “put families and jobs ahead of left-wing ideology and should be commended.”

But House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi of California called it “a stunning abdication of American leadership and a grave threat to our planet’s future.”

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